by Hilary Sigler
Dr. Scot Lingrell, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management at the University of West Georgia, was recently published in the January 2014 edition of Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly. SEMQ is an online, peer-reviewed journal for strategic enrollment management professionals.
Dr. Lingrell’s article, “Enrollment ‘Management’ Isn't Good Enough Anymore! Enrollment Leadership for a Campus Transformation,” details the gradual shift in enrollment managers’ roles and responsibilities, as well as what they must do to be successful.
“They [enrollment managers] must understand the entire institution and how all functions interact to ensure institutional success,” explains Dr. Lingrell in his article. “Whereas the effective enrollment manager of the early days of the profession could rely primarily upon their own skills to meet the demands placed upon them, this is no longer an effective strategy. Now, the stakes are too high, and the functional requirements too complex. Today's enrollment manager must evolve into an enrollment leader.”
According to Dr. Lingrell, because enrollment management is quickly evolving, there is a need for more leaders to understand the larger institutional picture and collaborate with campus partners. The article also discusses the importance and development of values. Dr. Lingrell stresses that it’s important to build a strong foundation so that the leaders may ultimately build an equally strong institution.
“Enrollment management only works if you have strong leaders who are able to develop great collaborative relationships with academic affairs and all other areas of the institution,” Dr. Lingrell adds. “Our institution is not successful without our students being successful, and under a strategic enrollment management structure leaders collaborate to make the best institutional decisions to enhance student success.”
